I am a blues guitar player and a follower of Jesus. This blog is about music,especially Blues, theology, humor, culture and anything else that rolls through my brain.
"The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down the street"

God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And
when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart. When you are so
weak that you cannot do much more than cry, you coin diamonds with both
your eyes. The sweetest prayers God ever hears are the groans and sighs
of those who have no hope in anything but his love. Charles Spurgeon

Think about the first line because it speaks to who God is. God is not unkind to you and God never makes a mistake concerning you
regardless of what it looks like or how it feels. The sweetest prayers
sounds like some of my prayers lately sometimes I feel that I have no
hope in anything but God's love for me. In the third movie in The Lord
of the Rings, "The Return of the King" Elrond the Elf King comes to
Aragorn to bring him the sword that had been broken but had been
reforged, he tells him that the dead men that live in the mountain can
provide Aragorn with a great army and says "They will listen to the King
of Gondor" The last thing Elrond says is "I give hope to men" Aragorn
replies "I keep none for myself" That's how I feel at times and why
this quote from Spurgeon really speaks to me, God hears the groans and
sighs of those who have no hope in anything but his love.

Monday, October 23, 2017

"In 1523 an Augustinian friar, Lambert Thorn was arrested for
adhering to his evangelical faith. Thorn spent five years in prison
where he eventually died in 1528 - without recanting. On January 19,
1524 early in Thorn's imprisonment, Luther sent Thorn a letter of
spiritual encouragement. Luther led with reminders of Thorn's union
with Christ and the strength this union provides: "Christ who is in you,
has given abundant testimony that you do not need my words, for he
himself suffers in you and is glorified
in you. He has taken captive in you and reigns in you. He is oppressed
in you and triumphs in you" Christ in us is not only the hope of glory;
our union with him is also our sure hope this side of glory. Luther
told Lambert to be "mindful that you are not suffering alone but that He
is with you who says, 'I will be with him in trouble; because he has
set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on
high because he has known my name ... Be of good courage and he will
strengthen your heart" Luther's counsel is the counsel of the Word: "He
has said: In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I
have overcome the world." Counseling Under The Cross - How Martin Luther Applied The Gospel To Daily LIfe by Bob Kellemen, pg. 108

Friday, September 8, 2017

We are celebrating the 500 anniversary of a German Monk nailing his
95 Thesis to the door of the church. Martin Luther the man who started
the Reformation. I wonder sometimes how many churches would welcome the
man who said the following:

A happy fart never comes from a miserable ass. Martin Luther He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long. Martin Luther False preachers are worse than deflowerers of virgins. Martin Luther

Luther was full of lines like these, he was tough, his speech could be
street level, he could be brash and did things that offended people. But
this was the man God chose, he was not perfect but these are the
reason's that I am drawn to Luther. I have found that he is a good
companion to have as I pursue God. My only wish is to be as witty as he
and to believe and preach the word of God with the power and strength
that he demonstrated. If you didn't laugh at the line about a happy fart
than you just might be a miserable ass. (Mic drop)

I was walking down the street one day Saw a preacher man coming my way Took me aside and he said to me "Better wash away your sins down in Galilee" And I said "oh wee, Lord have mercy on me Oh wee, Lord have mercy Oh wee, Lord have mercy on me Lord have mercy on this wicked man" A preacher man said to me "Don't try to blame no one else 'Cause after all is said and done The only one to blame is yourself'" And he said " oh wee, Lord have mercy on you Oh wee, Lord have mercy Oh wee, Lord have mercy on you Lord have mercy on this wicked man" Preacher man took my hand Said "let me lead you to the promised land Take my advice and listen to me You better wash away your sins down in Galilee" And he said " oh wee, Lord have mercy on you Oh wee, Lord have mercy Oh wee, Lord have mercy on you Lord have mercy on your wicked soul

"I was honored today with having a few stones, dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead cat thrown at me" George Whitefield

America’s Great Awakening was sparked largely by Whitefield’s preaching
tour of 1739–40. Though only 25 years old, the evangelist took America
by storm. Whitefield’s farewell sermon on Boston Common drew 23,000
people—more than Boston’s entire population. It was probably the largest
crowd that had ever gathered in America. Ben Franklin once estimated
that Whitefield, without any amplification, could be heard by more than
30,000 people. About 80 percent of all American colonists heard him
preach at least once. This man was a true evangelist as seen by his
statement above. I don't know if any of us could imagine reaching this many people without a sound system.

When I was playing bass in The Sam Lay Blues Band we opened for Johnny Winter they were incredibly loud each guitar player had 10 Fender Twins with custom SRO speakers every dial was on 10
After the show Johnny stayed behind and brought out his National Steele and we sat around playing blues and drinking wiskey

Paul Simon 2007 tribute with Shawn Colvin on guitar, Alison Krauss on violin, Jerry Douglas on dobro and Steve Gadd on drums. The Boxer was originally recorded on the 1970 Simon & Garfunkel album Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

"There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tower high up in the
mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it
smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope
returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced
him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there
was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach." J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings
What did hope do for Sam? It reminded him that the Shadow was only a
small and passing thing. You must cling to your hope regardless of how
dark it appears around you, look at Christ's promise that he is
returning to this earth and he will take you to his Father's house where
a place has been prepared for you. The reason the Shadow is only a
small and passing thing is because there is a light and a high beauty
forever beyond the reach of the darkness.